The Colts Will Be Fine

I hate knee jerk reactions. And the thing is, people do it ALL THE TIME in sports. Constantly.

It’s happening with the Colts now. Oh my god, they’re 2-2, what’s wrong? Will they win 10 games? Will they make the playoffs? Is their run over?

Sigh.

They’ve played four games. Four. They still have twelve to go. Let’s relax people, and I’ll tell you why you should.

I would have to think that if the Colts went 2-2 last year, we wouldn’t have panicked this bad. Flukey games happen sometime. Now, it’s nice to start 7-0, 9-0, and 13-0 in respective seasons, but it’s not the norm. We would’ve understood if they slipped up a few times early last year. But we aren’t giving them the same breaks this year. Why?

It’s because of Peyton Manning. If he started off this year playing great but the team still lost a few times, we would have understood. But he wasn’t playing great. He was decent, and we could only see that by actually watching the games. The stuff happening to him on a regular basis (like having the strongside DE in his face more than an angry drill sergeant on steroids) needs to be factored in to his performance. If you only look at his stats, especially compared to his averages, he was horrible, and we know he is not horrible. Far from it.

So what does this mean for the future? Well, the O-line has been banged up and a little shakier than the team would like, but Jeff Saturday is back now, and hopefully Tony Ugoh will follow soon, taking the pressure of the rookies who have been thrust into important roles when they are definitely not ready. (Just ask Manning).

This team always seems to get injured, and it’s probably because Tony Dungy’s scheme calls for smallish players and doesn’t take away from big hits and collisions, a very potent recipe for injury. But has this killed the team before? No. We just need to relax and let things play out.

I wrote the preceding paragraphs earlier this week and just didn’t get around to finishing this sucker before the game today. My original plan was to finish this thing before the game, but after watching it in person (God that’s a beautiful stadium) I’m glad I’m finishing it now.

Like I said, Colts fans, you don’t need to worry. We don’t need to worry. Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison, the old guy we thought was more done than an overcooked Thanksgiving dinner, absolutely smoked Chris McAlister, leading Jeremy Green to label him as his “stock down” on ESPN radio this afternoon. Peyton Manning looked like, well Peyton Manning. And what about that defense that everyone thought was the reincarnation of Indianapolis version 2006? Didn’t look like it to me. They looked motivated. They looked like they had something to prove. (Which they did.)

Yes, I realize Joseph Addai was injured and left the game, but you can put Tony Siragusa in that backfield and expect good things out of him if Peyton Manning’s clicking with his receivers.